‘Schopenhauer and the Value of Love’ Event

Wagner's Tristan and Isolde was strongly influenced by Schopenhauer's views. But whereas Wagner hoped that what Schopenhauer calls ‘sexual love' between man and woman could be redemptive, Schopenhauer's own view is more complex and challenging. ‘Sexual love' exploits our egoistic desires, but for ends that have no value for the individual human being. Only a disinterested ‘loving kindness' is truly of value to the individual, but it is of value precisely because it prepares for a sense of self that frees it from identification with the individual human being.